Auto SRR Users Guide
Table of Contents
Overview
This lab enables the estimation and tracking of the position (in the azimuthal plane) and velocity of objects in its field of view up to 80m, traveling as fast as 90kmph. The AWR1642 is configured to be a multi-mode radar, meaning that, while it tracks objects at 80m, it can also generate a rich point cloud of objects at 20m, so that both objects at a distance, and smaller obstacles close-by can be detected.
Quickstart
The quickstart uses:
- Precompiled binaries for flashing the device using Uniflash
- Visualizer as .exe
1. Hardware and Software Requirements
Hardware
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Device | AWR1642 EVM |
| Computer | PC with Windows 7 or 10. If a laptop is used, please use the ‘High Performance’ power plan in Windows. |
| Micro USB Cable | |
| Power Supply | 5V, >2.5A with 2.1-mm barrel jack (center positive). The power supply can be wall adapter style or a battery pack with a USB to barrel jack cable. |
Software
| Tool | Version | Required For | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| mmWave Automotive Toolbox | 1.2.0+ | ES1.0 silicon | Contains all files (quickstart, visualizer and firmware source files) related to mmWave Occupancy Detection Lab |
| mmWave Automotive Toolbox | 2.0.0+ | ES2.0 silicon | Contains all files (quickstart, visualizer and firmware source files) related to mmWave Occupancy Detection Lab |
| MATLAB Runtime | 2017a (9.2) | Quickstart Visualizer | To run the quickstart visualizer the runtime is sufficient. |
| TI mmWave SDK | 3.5.0.4+ | Firmware Source Code | The latest TI mmWave SDK and all the related tools are required to be installed as specified in the mmWave SDK release notes |
| TI Emulators package | 6.0.0576.0 or later | - | Upgrade to the latest using CCS update process (see SDK user guide for more details) |
Instructions for mmWave Automotive Toolbox installation without Code Composer Studio
- Navigate to the TI Resource Explorer
- Click the download button. A .zip file will be downloaded.
- Navigate to the .zip file. Right click and then select Extract All…. Do NOT use the default path. The path must be
C:\ti.
- Verify installation by navigating to view the lab files at
<radar_toolbox_install_dir>\source\ti\examples\ADAS\short_range_radar\
Instructions for mmWave Automotive Toolbox installation using Code Composer Studio
- Open CCS
- In the top toolbar, navigate to View > Resource Explorer
- In the Resource Explorer side panel (not the main panel with “Welcome to..”), navigate to Automotive Toolbox at Software > mmWave Sensors > Automotive Toolbox -
- With Automotive Toolbox selected, the main panel should show the Automotive toolbox landing page. Click on the Download icon in the right corner of panel.
- Verify installation by navigating to view the lab files at
<radar_toolbox_install_dir>\source\ti\examples\ADAS\short_range_radar\
2. Flash the EVM
- Power on the EVM using a 5V/2.5A power supply.
- Flash the following image using Uniflash
| Image | Location |
|---|---|
| Meta Image 1/RadarSS | <radar_toolbox_install_dir>\source\ti\examples\ADAS\short_range_radar\prebuilt_binaries\srrdemo_16xx.bin |
For help using Uniflash refer to the Getting started with uniflash for mmWave Devices guide
3. Run the Lab
To run the lab, launch and configure the visualizer which displays the detection and tracked object data received via UART.
1. Launch the visualizer:
- Navigate to
<radar_toolbox_install>\tools\visualizers\SRR_GUI\srr_visualization.exe - Run
srr_visualization.exe - After 30-60sec, the setup window should appear
2. Configure Visualizer
1. Select COM Ports
- Specify UART and DATA COM ports using the drop down menus.
- Ensure Reload configuration checkbox is enabled.
2. GUI options
- Leave default values or alter if desired.
- NOTE: changing these values only change the visualizaion - meaning the axis limits of the plots. It does not change the radar front end settings.
3. Record & Replay options
- If recording the session is desired, enable the Record current session checkbox.
- Click the Browse button and navigate to the location to save the session.
- The file name to record box will update with the path selected.
4. Grid Mapping Options
- This function is not currently supported. Please disregard.
5. Launch Visualizer
- Click OK to launch visualizer with configurations specified.
6. Understanding the Output
The visualizer consists of:
- A X-Y Scatter plot.
- The plot depicts detected and tracked objects and/or points.
- The legend at the right indicates the significance of the various symbols.
- The pink line can be interpreted as the free space around the radar that is constrained by the presence of objects in the scene.
- A Doppler-Range plot
- The plot indicates the velocity of tracked objects.
- The synchronized video is overlayed for illustration purposes. It is not part of the GUI.
Developer’s Guide
Build the Firmware from Source Code
1. Software Requirements
| Tool | Version | Required For | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| TI mmWave SDK | 3.5.0.4+ | Firmware Source Code | The latest TI mmWave SDK and all the related tools are required to be installed as specified in the mmWave SDK release notes |
| Code Composer Studio | 7.3+ | Firmware Source Code | Download link Note: CCSv6.x cannot be used |
| C6000 Code Generation Tool | 8.3.3 | Firmware Source Code | To compile code for the DSP core(C674x), the version 8.3.3 compiler must be installed under C:\ti. Download link |
To verify proper installations, navigate to C:\ti and ensure that the following tools have been installed in the EXACT directory specified.
| Tool | Version | Folder Path | Download link & Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCS | 7.3 or later | C:\ti\ccsv7 |
Download link Note: CCSv6.x cannot be used |
| TI SYS/BIOS | 6.73.1.1 | C:\ti\bios_6_73_01_01 |
Included in mmwave sdk installer |
| TI ARM compiler | 16.9.6.LTS | C:\ti\ti-cgt-arm_16.9.6.LTS |
Included in mmwave sdk installer |
| TI DSP compiler | 8.3.3 | C:\ti\ti-cgt-c6000_8.3.3 |
Version 8.3.3 must be downloaded and installed. Download link |
| XDC | 3.50.8.24 | C:\ti\xdctools_3_50_08_24_core |
Included in mmwave sdk installer |
| C64x+ DSPLIB | 3.4.0.0 | C:\ti\dsplib_c64Px_3_4_0_0 |
Included in mmwave sdk installer |
| C674x DSPLIB | 3.4.0.0 | C:\ti\dsplib_c674x_3_4_0_0 |
Included in mmwave sdk installer |
| C674x MATHLIB | 3.1.2.1 | C:\ti\mathlib_c674x_3_1_2_1 |
Included in mmwave sdk installer |
| mmwave device support packages | 1.5.3 or later | - | Upgrade to the latest using CCS update process (see SDK user guide for more details) |
| TI Emulators package | 6.0.0576.0 or later | - | Upgrade to the latest using CCS update process (see SDK user guide for more details) |
2. Import Lab Project
For the this example projects, there are two projects, the DSS for the C674x DSP core and the MSS project for the R4F core, that need to be imported to CCS and compiled to generate firmware for the xWR1642.
- Start CCS and setup workspace as desired.
- Import the projects below to CCS using either TI Resource Explorer in CCS or CCS Import Projectspecs method:
- srr_16xx_dss
- srr_16xx_mss
For help importing CCS projects, refer to the Radar Toolbox Readme
Successful Import to IDE After using either method, both project should be visible in CCS Project Explorer
Project Workspace When importing projects to a workspace, a copy is created in the workspace. All modifications will only be implemented for the workspace copy. The original project downloaded in the Radar Toolbox is not touched.
3. Build the Lab
Build DSS Project
The DSS project must be built before the MSS project.
With the srr_16xx_dss project selected in Project Explorer, right click on the project and select Rebuild Project. Selecting Rebuild instead of Build ensures that the project is always re-compiled. This is especially important in case the previous build failed with errors.
After Successful DSS Project Build In the Project Explorer panel, navigate to and expand srr_16xx_dss > Debug directory. The project has been successfully built if the following files appear in the Debug folder:
- srrdemo_16xx_dss.bin
- srrdemo_16xx_dss.xe674
Build MSS Project
After the DSS project is successfully built, select srr_16xx_mss in Project Explorer, right click on the project and select Rebuild Project.
After Successful MSS Project Build In the Project Explorer panel, navigate to and expand srr_16xx_mss > Debug directory. The project has been successfully built if the following files appear in the Debug folder:
- srrdemo_16xx_mss.bin
- srrdemo_16xx_mss.xer4f
- srrdemo_16xx.bin
If Build Fails with Errors If the build fails with errors, please ensure that all the prerequisites are installed as mentioned in the mmWave SDK release notes.
4. Execute the Lab
There are two ways to execute the compiled code on the EVM:
- Deployment mode: the EVM boots autonomously from flash and starts running the bin image
- Using Uniflash, flash the srrdemo_16xx.bin found at
<PROJECT_WORKSPACE_DIR>\srr_16xx_mss\Debug\srrdemo_16xx.bin - The same procedure for flashing can be use as detailed in the Quickstart Flash the Device section.
- Using Uniflash, flash the srrdemo_16xx.bin found at
- Debug mode: enables connection with CCS while lab is running; useful during development and debugging
For help with Debug mode refer to the Getting started with CCS Debug Guide
After executing the lab using either method, the lab can be visualized using the Quick Start GUI or continue to working with the GUI Source Code
Visualizer Source Code
⚠️ WARNING
Working with and running the Visualizer source files requires a MATLAB License not just the MATLAB Runtime Engine
Source files are located at <radar_toolbox_install_path>\tools\visualizers\SRR_GUI.
Need More Help?
- Find more details about SRR by referring to the TI Design document
- Find answers to common questions on mmWave E2E FAQ
- Search for your issue or post a new question on the mmWave E2E forum